Why Women’s Sports Fans Spend: What Brands Can Learn From the Rise of Women’s Sports Bars

It’s not news any more that women’s sports are growing. We’re watching leagues and athletes flourish like a beautiful flower garden with A’ja Wilsons and Coco Gauffs tilting towards the sunshine. We’ve seen record viewership and record paydays, we’ve cheered on broken records and record engagement. And, more than anything, we’ve seen growth. Year over year, season over season, the growth may not always be linear, but it’s steady.

While watching women’s sports grow, there’s a question not enough people are asking: Who is doing the growing? Who is watering the seeds that turn into the flowers that transform into our stars?

It’s all of you.

Recently Jenny Nguyen, owner of the hugely popular Sports Bra chain, announced that she was launching a crowdfunding campaign so that we can all “own a part of the Bra.” While this is an investment opportunity, if you think of it like buying Amazon stock you’re headed in the wrong direction. Something that Jenny and her team understand is that when they ask women’s sports fans to make an investment, they are promising something else than a huge monetary return. They are promising to build something we want to see built. And it’s working: at the close of the campaign, Jenny and her team raised $1.235M with 1,397 investors.

So today we’re breaking down what it is about women’s sports bars that makes women’s sports fans bring out the pocketbook, and what you as a brand or company can learn from them to take advantage of those same qualities.

1. Women are more likely to spend on a brand that supports women’s sports

Something we have proven in our own research is that women are not only likely, but are excited to support a brand who partners with their favorite league, team or athlete. Women are nearly 3x as likely to purchase from a brand that supports an athlete they admire over any other type of influencer. Fans of US women’s soccer are particularly loyal: they are 58% more likely to make a purchase because of a brand partnership compared with other women’s sports.

So. A place to buy a drink and fries that supports women’s sports by putting them on TV? It’s not hard to understand why a women’s sports fan would patronize this bar for dinner versus another local establishment. I have an investment account with Ally simply because they are such a huge supporter of women’s sports, but I’ve yet to be served a “Game Changer” for my contributions, and I really wish they would add that as a perk.

2. Women are less likely than men to attend sports in person

Speaking of Ally, they sponsored research that was published in October of 2025 (Ally Financial Fan Spending Survey) that aims to better understand how we spend on sports (Spoiler: the main take home is we spend too much. Whoops? Sorry not sorry). To me, one of the most interesting take home points is how male and female fans spend their money differently, across both men’s and women’s sports’ fandoms.

Women tend to be more driven by a community experience of watching sports, whereas men are more likely to spend on the gameday experience. Women are significantly more likely than men (52% vs. 46%) to gather at a friend’s house or host a watch party (31% vs. 26%). Ally doesn’t go into why this might be, but let’s speculate for all the women in the room.

It could be that women are more likely to have child/home/work responsibilities that prevent them from going to a game in person, or that they are more financially responsible about their sports spending (this last one was proven by Ally’s research). It could also be that women simply feel more comfortable watching sports from their friend’s couch: not a belligerent drunk fan in sight. Whatever the reason, your local women’s sports bar is exactly the thing to strike the balance between the game day experience and that friend’s couch we were just talking about. For many women’s sports fans, watching at a sports bar built for them may feel even better than scoring a stadium seat.

3. Women have more spending power

Sports marketing does not cater to women. To a certain extent women’s sports marketing is still trying to cater to the male gaze, and men’s sports marketing seems to completely ignore that women make up roughly half of their fan base.

Many companies also forget that it’s women who control the vast majority of spending, not just in the United States, but all over the world. This number may even be conservative, but Forbes estimates that women will control 75% of global discretionary spending by 2028.

If you want to have people spend money on your brand, or buy tickets to come to your event, you simply must make your product or experience attractive to women. Women’s sports bars, and other local venues that explicitly cater to women’s experience are bound to attract dollars over time.

4. Women are engaged

This research from Sports Innovation Lab is now a couple of years old, but I think it’s worth taking another look at. The Fan Project largely centered around how fans of women’s sports had to become “fluid” in the way that they watch and follow their favorite sports teams and athletes. This is because, historically, women’s sports haven’t been easily available on TV or streaming platforms. Women’s sports fans have had to dig through social media, foreign YouTube and Discord channels, then combine them with VPNs and various subscriptions: all for a chance to watch live sports.

Now, when much of the money and growth in sports viewership happens on social media, women’s sports fans are already locked in. They’ve been here from the start, and engaging with content on various platforms is like second nature. The Fan Project estimated that these “fluid fans” represent just 10% of all sports fans, but are responsible for more than 50% of total revenue.

Having socially engaged fans equals dollars these days. When women’s sports fans feel welcome at a local sports bar they will follow, post, tag and comment: can you say free marketing??

5. Women give to causes they believe in

So why do women pay? Why, when Jenny posts a crowdfundraiser, do we all hit the button and empty our bank accounts?

Women’s sports are not a charity: we are not giving them our money because they are a feel good story. This being said, many consumers, especially members of Gen Z, believe that supporting women and girls in sport is partly a values-motivated decision. What’s more? Years and years of data show that women are far more likely to participate in values-oriented giving than men are: women are your target audience.

Women’s sports bars sit at the intersection of community, spending, fandom and growth, so it’s no longer a head scratcher why they are doing so well. The question that remains is how can your brand similarly attract women’s sports fans’ dollars?

• Sponsor a women’s sports team or athlete.

Remember, women’s sports fans are more likely to buy from you when we see you supporting their favorite team or athlete. More likely than fans of men’s sports, and more likely than when you partner with another type of influencer.

• Curate experiences for fans outside of game day.

Remember, women are less likely than men to attend the game in person. Having sponsored watch parties or pop-ups shows us you understand our needs and experiences, and want to cater to us as fans.

• Make stuff we can buy!

The merchandise game in women’s sports still has a long way to go. Most of it just isn’t original or fun to wear. Women have discretionary spending power: lots of it! Make us want to spend it on you.

• Have a strong social presence.

Women’s sports fans are engaged online. Having a consistent social media presence will go a long way towards getting dedicated fans, and dedicated fans are consistent customers.

• Give us the human angle.

We love a good highlight, but give us the behind the scenes, too! We want to get to know the athletes we love as people: it’s when we see ourselves in their stories that we care about them even more. 

When women’s sports fans give money, they recognize that that money is going towards growing: we love women’s sports and we want more of them. We love safe spaces for women and girls and we want more of those too. The only way to keep the game growing is to keep watering it, and women have The only way to get more of them is to support them.